The vehicle wash market generally separates itself into two major groups, friction and touchless. Many consumers avoid friction vehicle washes due to concerns of vehicle damage and the desire to avoid the noise associated with the media elements slapping a vehicle. These consumers choose touchless vehicle washes that use chemicals and high pressure to clean the exterior surface of the vehicle. Touchless washes are generally slower and more costly than friction washes. Currently, friction washes are more common than touchless, but they also have disadvantages.
The wash media elements utilized with existing friction washes have been fabricated in various forms and by various manufacturing processes. The initial wash media elements for these friction washes consisted of plastic bristles, which were known to cause damage to a vehicle exterior. These washes thus began employing a wash media element constructed of soft cloth in order to reduce the potential harm to a vehicle exterior. Still later, foam media elements were introduced that were lighter in weight and yielded increased longevity.
While each current media element has its advantages, each also has known disadvantages. For example, textile-based washing elements are known to provide better cleaning when properly wetted and lubricated with the proper detergents. They, however, can become heavy when wet, and can be objectionably loud on the surface of the vehicle. Additionally, the bristle and cloth media elements require high RPM to allow sufficient support through centrifugal force in order to properly contact and clean a vehicle exterior. Unfortunately, as the rotational speeds of rotary brushes employing these types of media have increased, the probability of vehicle damage, the noise produced by vehicle washing, and the unpleasantness of the washing experience for vehicle occupants has also increased, often exponentially. However, rotating the brush at slower RPMs is not an option as it does not provide enough support for the elements and they thus will not effectively clean the vehicle.
By contrast, closed-cell foam washing elements remain lighter in weight because they do not absorb water and can support themselves. This will provide a gentler wash with less noise. However, these foam washing elements do not tend to clean as well as textile-based washing elements, particularly at slow speeds.
It would thus be desirable to provide an improved media element that addresses these issues.